Article Citations Below Are Gathered From Published Journals and Newsletters Which Are Held In the BMD TIC Collection. These Materials May Be Protected By Copyright Restrictions.

05/21/99

JASSM Flight Test Schedule Delayed

. Aerospace Daily, May 19, 1999, pp 259-260

The Joint Air-to-Surface Missile (JASSM) program will be delayed by one month while Lockheed Martin fixes 10 items on all 11 existing missiles. The next flight of the stealthy cruise missile, originally slated for June, will now take place in late July or August to allow more time for ground testing.

Lockheed Martin officials expect the PAC-3 missile to form the basis of the MEADS system. The company won a $300m contract this week to build a MEADS prototype. Article discusses other plans Lockheed Martin has for running the program, a joint effort with Germany and Italy.

The loss of three military satellites to launch failures since August 1998 could have significant repercussions on future US space based operations, although near term capabilities are not in jeopardy. In particular, USSPACECOM's future space control options will be severely constrained until reliable spacelift is assured. Satellites now in orbit can handle current and projected warfighter demands for communications, navigation, missile warning, weather and intelligence support. However, "the three satellites lost were designed to carry their respective constellations into the 21st century. We must ensure that those constellations remain robust," said Gen Richard B. Myers, US Space Command's commander-in-chief (Cincspace). "Because these failures have cost us a great deal, both in financial terms and in future mission capability, we are working hard to identify their causes."

Russia considers Yugoslavia an ally and NATO an expansionist threat. China fears NATO's intervention in the Balkans prefigures US meddling in a future conflict between China and Taiwan. National security experts say the souring of America's relations with both powers gets worse the longer the Balkan war continues, threatening years of White House efforts to shore up wobbly Russian and Chinese support for curbing the proliferation of WMD and the missiles to launch them. Also, efforts to craft an American-Russian agreement to amend the ABM Treaty and undertake joint development of BMD and efforts to persuade Russia to adopt the START 2 are threatened.

It will be several years before DoD fields cost-effective, interoperable, cruise missile defense (CMD) and more needs to be done to make the coordination process effective, according to a new GAO report. The report, "Cruise Missile Defense: Progress Made, But Significant Challenges Remain" (NSIAD-99-68), was required by Rep Curt Weldon. Article outlines findings and recommendations.

Malcolm R. O'Neill, former BMDO director, will be a member of the review panel studying the program management, engineering, and quality control procedures for Lockheed Martin's space programs. Formation of the panel was prompted by the numerous test failures of the THAAD missile.

Layered, integrated missile defense systems, similar to those the US is developing, offer South Korea the most comprehensive architecture to protect it from limited threat missiles launched from North Korea, a new DoD report says. The report offers hypothetical TBMD architectures, based on weapon systems such as THAAD, PAC-3 and Navy Upper Tier. Chart of Notional Architectures is included with article.

Descriptors, Keywords: TMD Japan South Korea Taiwan chart

UPDATE: May 21, 1999, No. 07

First HABE Flight Early Next Year. BMD Monitor, May 14, 1999, p 10

The High Altitude Balloon Experiment (HABE) developmental payload flight is set for some time in early 2000, according to Bill Browning, program manager for the BMDO funded project. The HABE will be a test bed for the Space Based Laser (SBL) program.

Recent criticisms of the Airborne Laser (ABL) program contained in a Congressional Research Service draft report are based on erroneous information according to Col Mike Booen, director of the ABL Systems Program Office at Kirtland AFB. Booen also points out errors (which were later corrected) in the first draft of a GAO report on the ABL program. Article elaborates on numerous criticisms and rebuttals of the ABL program.

Responding to criticism that the NMD program is unprepared to handle potential countermeasures that could fool its interceptors, the officer in charge of the program, Army BG Willie Nance, defended the system's capabilities. Of major concern to critics is the possibility that the NMD could be committed to deployment before testing the interceptors against realistic targets.

Israel is moving toward full support of the US in its efforts to prevent Russia from transferring ballistic missile and nuclear technology to Iran, said Israeli Minister of Defense Moshe Arens at a joint press conference with SecDef William Cohen April 27. Article notes other topics of discussion at the press conference.

When SASC approved the $60m increase for Patriot anti-cruise missile (PACM) production contingent upon two successful flight tests of the missile to be conducted this July, the PACM program cleared its first funding hurdle. PACM must now clear the other defense committees, including the SAC, HASC and HAC and the conferences between the House and Senate for FY00 defense funding.

The US, Germany and Italy have selected the Lockheed Martin team over the rival Raytheon team as the winner of a contract valued at as much as $250m to develop the technologies needed for the MEADS. BMDO is leading the US portion of the effort to develop a mobile defense against ballistic, cruise and air attack that could be based on the PAC-3 system by Raytheon.

SASC completed marking up a $288.8b FY00 Defense Authorization Bill that recommends adding $509.3b to ballistic missile defense programs, increasing procurement funding by $855m and adding more than $280m to research and development programs.

According to a White House spokesman, President Clinton has asked Dr. Neil Lane, assistant for science and technology, to work closely with DoD and the director of CIA to understand the root causes of the recent string of space launch failures and to recommend corrective action. A number of launches has been placed on "hold" pending review by DoD because of the launch reliability situation.

On May 19, HASC completed a FY00 Defense Authorization Bill that recommends $288.8b in budget authority--$8.3b more than requested by the Clinton administration--and adds funds to dozens of weapons programs. This article highlights recommended funding for ballistic missile defense.

US Army officials oppose fielding the Patriot Anti-Cruise Missile (PACM) in spite of a favorable report on its performance. Critics of PACM say it is not needed because the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) will counter both ballistic and cruise missiles, and fielding two separate cruise missile killers would drive up costs. The PACM producer, Raytheon, is lobbying for an additional $60m to produce 200 missiles.

BG William Nance says that delays may occur in the schedule for the National Missile Defense (NMD) program due to very tight test flight requirements. Thirteen flights are scheduled, with only three months in between. The budget for this year is $1.6b, and $837m has been funded by Congress for 2000. BG Nance points out that the program will be able to meet deadlines only if every test goes perfectly. Correcting failures and design flaws is a time consuming but necessary process.

Descriptors, Keywords: Nance NMD National Missile Defense

UPDATE: May 21, 1999, No. 21

In the Matter of the Laboratory At Los Alamos. Defense Week. King, Llewellyn, May 17, 1999, pp 1-2

The Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) wants to establish a commission dedicated to studying national security issues in space. Among the questions to be addressed are: the establishment of an independent military service with a national security space mission; a corps within the AF dedicated to the space mission; a position of assistant SecDef for space.

The Army and the BMDO were scheduled to conduct the first official intercept test of the PAC-3 program on May 13, but have postponed the test because of weather-related concerns and other minor problems. The test has been delayed "indefinitely," according to a BMDO spokesperson.

Descriptors, Keywords: PAC-3 interceptor test

UPDATE: May 21, 1999, No. 25

Gilman: Allies Should Build An Early Warning Radar System In Asia. Inside the Pentagon. Costa, Keith J., May 13, 1999, pp 3-4

House International Relations Committee Chairman Benjamin Gilman (R-NY) is calling for the US, Japan and South Korea to establish a joint early warning radar system to guard against ballistic missile attack, primarily from North Korea. Gilman presented his recommendations to Japanese Prime Minister Obuchi on May 4.

Descriptors, Keywords: Gilman early warning radar Japan South Korea

UPDATE: May 21, 1999, No. 26

OSD Product Team To Take Up New THAAD Acquisition Strategy This Week. Inside the Pentagon. Dupont, Daniel G., May 13, 1999, p 5

The Army and the BMDO will brief an overarching integrated product team this week on the restructured THAAD system, hoping to gain approval for the plan and a revised acquisition program baseline.

The House Intelligence Committee is recommending that the BMDO assume some of the program and budget responsibility for SBIRS-High. The panel has approved $328.7m for the program, placing half of the money in the Air Force's SBIRS-High account and half in a new BMDO account. A similar arrangement is under discussion for SBIRS-Low.

The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, in a report released last week, is calling for a reappraisal of the policy that allows the export of US commercial satellites to China for launch. The report concludes that because of shortfalls in intelligence gathering by US officials, sensitive technical information was transferred to China when US satellites were launched there in 1995 and 1996.

While the Pentagon has encouraged competition between the two upper tier systems (THAAD and NTW) and has proposed combining the two programs into one Program Element next year, the Senate has rejected that idea. Language in the Senate's FY00 authorization bill instructs the Pentagon to keep both programs on separate development tracks with distinct budget accounts.

The Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) has voted to add $212m to the FY00 budget for the completion of PAC-3 R&D and the beginning of production. NTW also received a $120m boost from the SASC, and the AF won additional funds for both the SBL and the SBIRS-High programs.

The US has given approval to a transportation plan for the shipment of nuclear fuel from Europe to Japan by sea. The shipment, which may take place this summer, will be composed of plutonium from nuclear reactors blended with uranium to make mixed oxide (MOX) fuel.

Rep John Sweeney (D-NY) has introduced a bill that would prohibit the US from proceeding with a proposed sale of a Cray SVI supercomputer to China. Major concern is that the system could fall into the wrong hands, seriously undermining our national security. DoD, DoE and other executive departments also object to the sale.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jesse Helms (R-NC) is seeking to prohibit the use of funds to establish a mixed oxide (MOX) nuclear fuel fabrication plant in Russia unless Russian officials agree to abide by certain nonproliferation constraints. MOX fuel is made by blending plutonium with uranium, which can then be used as fuel in civilian nuclear power plants.

House International Relations Committee Chairman Benjamin Gilman (R-NY) has introduced legislation that sets strict conditions on the release of FY00 funds for humanitarian aid to North Korea and affords Congress the opportunity to review any nuclear cooperation deal struck with Pyongyang. Gilman's bill is called the "North Korean Threat Reduction Act of 1999."

The Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) remains committed to the pursuit of military anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons even though the Clinton administration continues to believe the threat does not yet warrant their development. The committee has set aside $41m to continue work on the Army's Kinetic Energy ASAT missile, and $20m for the Air Force's "space control development" initiatives.

German, Italian and US officials involved in the MEADS are meeting in Rome to choose a prime contractor for the mobile, lower-tier system. Groups headed by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin have been vying for the $260m contract, which would carry the program to 2003, when it is expected to be ready for development. Sources said another $3b would be needed for MEADS to reach its planned deployment in 2010.

Article reports on the vulnerability of low Earth orbit satellites and looks at the future of ASATs. "Even if a regional power or developing state were to build a working ASAT, would it use it? The answer depends largely upon the context of the engagement. In one case, a country may not wish to jeopardize its own access to commercial satellite data. In another, it may have more to gain by leveling the playing field with a high altitude nuclear burst. A February 1999 wargame sponsored by the US Army Space and Missile Defense Command struggled with this issue, which is certain to become more significant as commercial satellites become more intertwined with various ground based services and infrastructures."

Article lists India and Pakistan's missile inventory including range, payload mass and rocket fuel. Article concludes: "India's new government needs to be aware of the destabilizing actions the Vajpayee government took during its 13-month term of office. Unfortunately the voices of caution and reason are far outweighed by the coalition of hawkish scientists and politicians bent upon further augmenting India's strategic capability. Political turmoil in India and economic stagnation in both countries provides small comfort that either India or Pakistan will stem their SSM developments for the foreseeable future."

The US Army, German Air Force and Royal Netherlands Air Force have further developed their combined extended air defense/theater missile defense capabilities during exercise 'Joint Project Optic Windmill-4' (JPOW-4). Held last March at De Peel Air Base, the Netherlands, this fourth JPOW exercise featured the most realistic integrated virtual/live TMD battlefield so far. JPOW-4 emphasized the intelligence aspects of TMD. It included day and night live conventional counterforce operations sorties. For active defense operations, JPOW-4 involved live and simulated Patriot units from Germany, the Netherlands and the US; simulated US Aegis and Dutch LCF-type air defense ships; and the US Airborne Laser systems engineering model.

The US Atlantic Command has conducted a major TMD demonstration which involved over 160 simulated 'Scud' TBM launches and focused on the integration of sea based TMD forces within the overall BMD of land-based high-value sites. Called Theater Missile Defense Initiative (TMDI) 98-3, the demonstration was an overlay on the US Navy sponsored Joint Task Force Exercise 99-1, held last February off the US East Coast. The initiative was to address and demonstrate the joint (inter-service) theater air missile defense C4I architecture as well as the processes and procedures of TMD at the operational level of war.